The instant invention relates generally to topically-applied compositions for providing analgesic and/or anti-inflammatory relief in animal, including humans, and more specifically to compositions containing a first polyol, such as vitamin C, a second polyol, such as glucosamine, a first oxidizing agent, such as hydrogen peroxide, a first polar compound having a dielectric constant greater than about 40, such as dimethylsulfoxide, and a second polar compound having a dielectric constant greater than about 40, such as dimethylsulfone. Applicant""s composition further optionally includes a second oxidizing agent and/or one or a plurality of terpenoid compounds. Applicant""s invention further relates to a method for topically applying Applicant""s composition to animals, including humans.
Many patients with localized pain due to arthritis, bursitis, sprain or muscle strain, bruises or hematomas cannot tolerate conventional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, commonly known as NSAIDS. In addition, topical administration of conventional NSAIDS has largely been ineffective because only a therapeutically ineffective amount of the drug can penetrate the skin. In addition, indications such as acne, psoriasis and eczema are typically refractory to topical or oral administration of NSAIDS. What is needed is a composition that is effective in treating a wide variety of inflammatory conditions by topical application of the composition. Such a composition
In addition, joint pain can often indicate the onset of a condition called osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative joint disease affecting articular cartilage developing in the fourth and fifth decades of life that was initially believed to be a disease of wear and tear due to mechanical stress on the joints. It is now known that the pathology of osteoarthritis is not entirely mechanical and involves changes in the joint metabolism. Specifically, altered glucosamine metabolism appears to play a key role in the development of osteoarthritis.
An effective treatment of osteoarthritis must address two types of problems: (i) pain, and joint tenderness, swelling and stiffness must be alleviated as an immediate patient""s problem; and (ii) the degenerative process must be stopped preferably at its earlier stages. Treatment with anti-rheumatics and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs has not proven successful. Anti-rheumatics, although quickly effective, were recently shown to impair the very function that physicians were trying to improve, and anti-inflammatory drugs alleviate the pain but do not address the underlying degenerative disorder.
Recent biochemical and pharmacological studies have suggested a novel and more effective treatment of osteoarthritis. These studies have shown that administration of glucosamine tends to normalize cartilage metabolism, inhibiting degradation, and stimulating the synthesis of proteoglycans resulting in partial restoration of the articular function. The therapeutic effectiveness of a treatment with glucosamine has been demonstrated in a number of animal and human studies.
Glucosamine is a building block of the ground substance of the articular cartilage, the proteoglycans. Glucosamine is also the preferential substrate and a stimulant of proteoglycan biosynthesis. Furthermore, glucosamine inhibits the degradation of proteoglycans and rebuilds the experimentally damaged cartilage. Based on these findings, different types of glucosamine were introduced in the therapy of osteoarthritis. The clinical experience with preparations containing glucosamine derivatives confirmed the efficacy and the safety of the glucosamine treatment.
What is needed is a composition for use in animals, including humans, which can alleviate the signs and symptoms of joint pain, including pain related to osteoarthritis, without causing undesirable side effects. What is also required is a convenient method of using such a composition.
Applicants"" invention includes a composition formed by combining a first sulfur-containing compounds having a dielectric constant greater than 40, a second sulfur-containing compound having a dielectric constant greater than 40, and a first oxidizing agent. In other embodiments, Applicant""s composition also includes a first polyol, such as vitamin C, in combination with a second polyol, such as glucosamine and/or glucosamine derivatives.
Applicant""s invention further includes a method to topically apply Applicant""s composition in and around a painful joint, a painful muscle, a painful tendon, and/or a painful ligament. Applicant has found that such topical application of his composition is effective in ameliorating pain resulting from a number of causes including inflammation, arthritis, bursitis, physical injury, joint replacement surgery, muscle/tendon/ligament strains and/or sprains, and the like. Applicant has further discovered that use of the above-recited ingredients in combination a second oxidizing agent and/or in combination with a plurality of terpenoid compounds is especially effective in ameliorating such joint, muscle, tendon, and/or ligament pain in and animals, including humans.